Doug, my Brooklyn Producers Lab mentor, told me something last week that I haven’t stopped thinking about: a good portion of your movie is made before the movie is made. You must make good decisions in pre-production. Casting is a big one. You have to choose actors who will portray your characters in line with your vision. If you get it right, you’re stepping back and letting the actors do their job–and they may even surprise you with a little something you hadn’t imagined. If you get it wrong, you’re trying to pull a performance from an actor that isn’t right for the role on the day of the shoot when you’ve got a million other things to focus on.
Hold auditions and do read-throughs in person. You’re evaluating not only individual performances, but chemistry between the actors. And if the actor isn’t right, it’s fixable; you can find someone else who is. As Doug says, 85% of directing is in the casting. Get the casting right, and you’ve made your job a whole lot easier.
Follow up with me after I’ve cast Lucky Ticket to see whether or not I listened.